Pages

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

moments

The past few days have been full of lovely keepsake moments. As they happen I try to pause, close my eyes, freeze them in little memory-jewels to keep for later. You know the ones, the memories you take out years later to relish. They keep you warm long after most of the moments around them have faded from color to black and white and then to gray.

Yesterday morning J woke up at her usual time, after a bit of a rough night. I wasn't ready to wake up so I reached into the co-sleeper and pulled her into bed with me, a trick that sometimes buys me 10-15 minutes of extra immobility. I woke up half an hour later to her baby snores, small head snuggled into that place on my chest that, turns out, was made for a baby to sleep on. This doesn't happen often anymore. I spent the next half hour watching her, memorizing the way her small body feels when it is totally relaxed and fast asleep, her left hand tangled in my hair. ___________

D came in to town last week, the friend of my heart who frequently goes on baby-book shopping sprees on Powell's to make sure that J has every single book she could possibly ever need. I watched my friend, who I have loved for over ten years, hold my daughter, read her some of those books, smile and laugh with her. It was a perfect bookend to the tearful phone calls D has fielded from me over the past few years while I was seeking parenthood. She has a gift for reminding me of my center. It was pretty amazing to watch her bond with the child who has my heart. _________________

Every year I throw a party for a varying number of my girlfriends. This past weekend we had our tenth, a decade of celebrating women and fun and the beauty we see in each other. Some of us have moved away, ladies came in from out of state to celebrate. Ten years ago, the first time, we were all kids - as young as 19 and no one older than 23. Now we are career women, mothers, wives, and just women. We're aging together and getting more beautiful every time we gather. It was perfect, a jewel of a party. __________________

Oh yes, and also this. She wore more than she ate, but we all had fun. ♥